Concerns raised over proposed changes to GP dispensing

Added: 09/10/2008
Category: Norfolk County Council

Department of Health proposals which could change the rules under which doctors can dispense drugs at their surgeries will be discussed by councillors at a meeting next week (Thursday 16 October).

Norfolk County Council's Norfolk Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee will consider a report on the proposals, which sets out the Department of Health's vision for the future of pharmaceutical services in England.

Among the proposed changes is the suggestion that the criteria that decides whether GP surgeries can dispense drugs should be reviewed. Under current regulations doctors can dispense to patients who live in a 'controlled' area, mainly rural areas, more than 1.6km from a dispensing pharmacy, or if the patient would have serious difficulty in obtaining drugs or appliances from a pharmacy for other reasons.

The options that are being consulted on include:

· using the distance between the surgery - instead of the patient's registered address - and the nearest pharmacy to determine whether GPs can dispense and

· removing the existing specific distance criteria and allowing Primary Care Trusts to decide where GP dispensing is appropriate.

If changes are made, there would be a more significant effect on patients in Norfolk than in many other parts of the country due to the rural nature of the county.

In the area of the county under NHS Norfolk's remit, 29 per cent of patients can currently receive drugs dispensed by their GP. This figure is more than four times greater than the national average, which stands at just under seven per cent of patients.

Janice Eells, Chairman of the Norfolk Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: “Any changes which could be to the detriment of the level of care provided to patients in Norfolk are a concern to the Committee. We will discuss these proposals in the meeting and examine their possible impact.”

At Thursday's meeting members will also:

· hear the results of a survey of older people's (aged 65 and over) experience of Accident and Emergency (A&E) Departments. The survey was carried out in response to Members' concerns about how older people were being treated in A&E Departments based on anecdotal evidence about the experience of individual elderly patients.

· receive the first progress report from the Intermediate Care Implementation Monitoring Group. The Group exists to monitor changes to the provision of intermediate care in central Norfolk as agreed by NHS Norfolk's Board in July 2007.

The meeting will take place at 10am in the Edwards Room at County Hall.